Review S07 EP30: Balance of Power

[Dogasu]

Japanese Episode AG 70: "Petalburg Gym! The Fifth Badge!"
American Episode 342: "Balance of Power"

Kids' WB!, 10:00am ET
Encore airing on Kids' WB! Friday at 4:00pm ET
The time for the rematch between Ash and Norman has begun! We already know what pokemon Norman will be using, but what will Ash use? And who will win?

This is also the first time Challenger! was used as the opening theme in the anime. The dub started to use the opening using footage from this opening 29 episodes ago.

Post your thoughts about the episodes here. Please mark any spoilers for episodes not that have yet to air in America in spoiler tags.

 

[Aquatre]

I have come to the conclusion that Slaking scares me almost as much as Exploud does.


I think I've seen comparatively few AG episodes compared to other members here, but I don't really recall them using many Abilities before, so it was nice to see that. And while I was pretty sure of who the winner would be before this episode, I still enjoyed watching the battle. Norman had an interesting strategy in countering Ash's speed attacks, and Slakoth is too cute ^^ And I laughed when Torkoal started crying after its win XD Seeing more of Vigoroth, my personal favorite of the three, was good too.

Team Rocket was, well, funny like always. Though I'm not sorry to see a gym battle go straight through rather than get interrupted by them, for once. Funny bit at the end with the Dugtrio, though XD

Max was annoying at the end, but I almost felt for him. Almost. That was pretty much a lesson that Ash (and us, and others) learned way back when, but I guess it was Max's turn, ah?

Random thought: The Balance Badge always looked like a little pair of glasses to me

I give this episode a 7/10; it was good, but not the best. Nice battle... although now I can't help but think of Lupin the Third whenever I see Norman ever since I saw it on the board the other day ;P

 

[Mozz]

Gym matches are always a cut above the average episode. However, I didn't think this match was that great. I like seeing different Pokemon, and having 3 from the same line doesn't make it as exciting.

I dunno, still a decent ep, 6/10

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

It was nice seeing Overgrow, but the rest of the ep was too predictible. The second he pulled out Grovyle, we all knew what would happen, almost shot for shot.

And seriously, Blizzard has, like, a 30% chance of hitting. Is that yet another rule that's different for the show?

Good to hear Veronica Taylor sounding better after last ep. I think she must have been sick.

Anyone noticing an upturn in Eric Stewart's voice lately? It's not much, but it's a start.

I'm a bit disappointed that Meowth's line about throwing a party for the Boss didn't turn into a daydream.

Also--what's Max's problem? Seriously, I know he's got a massive case of hero worship, but he also seems to be in huge denial over the whole "Gym Leaders give out badges when they lose" thing.

 

[Geodude]

Blizzard has a 30% chance of missing, BJG.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

That's it? I thought it had the same hit rate as Thunder.

 

[birdboy2000]

Grovyle is so cool.

Gym battles are fun, and I liked seeing Masato sad and childish once.

He IS just a kid, after all, and not the ultra-mature sort either.

That is all.

 

[Kthleen]

Gym matches are always a cut above the average episode. However, I didn't think this match was that great.

I agree on 1/3 points (with a 6.8/10 instead, and the fact that I didn't mind that Norman's Pokémon were from the same line). I don't know why, but this one just wasn't up to par with the others. I did like seeing abilities, because of/despite being a bit unfamiliar with Ru/Sa.

I hate little kids. Max is a little above the rest because I don't have to/can't physically put up with him, he's (probably) older than 6, seems knowledgeable and is somewhat cute in that "kids tend to be cute in anime" way, but then again, 4/10 is higher than 1.5/10 but still low. (Teamed with his sister, it makes... 8.8/10?) Strangely, it was kind of cool to see him being childish.

Blizzard and Thunder do have the same accuracy, which is a 70% hit rate.

 

[Geodude]

That's it? I thought it had the same hit rate as Thunder.

It does, as Kthleen said.

 

[Kauri]

I found it interesting that they managed to incorporate both Pikachu's Static and Grovyle's Overgrow abilities, yet neglected to work Slakoth/Slaking's Truant in. Unless they were trying to pass off Slaking's "disinterest in battle" thing as Truant, or something. Pfft.

Agreed that the Pokemon choice was bland. On the upside, it was nice to see Vigoroth again, and Slakoth was pretty damned cute. Hee.

I... I really could have done without TR's appearance in the episode. I always find it annoying x10 when they're *in* an ep, but don't do anything worthwhile, y'know? ( granted, they very rarely do anything worthwhile, but that's not the point... )

Hmn. Max's bit at the end didn't annoy me so much. I thought it was a little understandable; Max looks up to his father and thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and Max was 110% sure that Norman would win, so of course he'd have a little trouble coping with Norman's loss. *shrug*

Plus, it was really great of Ash to say that Max could keep the Badge if he wanted. Considering all of Ash's previous "zomg new badge!!1" excitement, it was a pretty impressive offer on his part~

Ash's Torkoal is so cute. ;__;

 

[Kthleen]

I... I really could have done without TR's appearance in the episode. I always find it annoying x10 when they're *in* an ep, but don't do anything worthwhile, y'know?

Strangely, I know how you feel. I like TR and all, but for some reason, they didn't really seem to have a part in this episode. We could have cut to Richie or Mewtwo-tachi and still had something somewhat interesting happen.


I like some of the parts from Pokemon Fan's (from Pokemopolis) analysis (whole thing here):

Slakoth, the Matrix Pokemon, runs rings around poor Pikachu without ever actually moving from it's original place.

It seems that in the anime the laziness trait of Slaking, which causes it to skip turns in the game, is actually a benefit in the anime, as it makes it absorb attacks easier, and a good pummelling gets it warmed up to fight more powerfully.

Max and May switch maturity levels, as Max reveals in some ways he is just a little kid who thinks his dad is invincible. He actually takes Ash's badge, runs off and locks himself in the greenhouse. Makes you realize, for better or worse, why Norman never let Max (or May) watch the gym battles before.

Ash for his part shows amazing maturity, not getting upset and even telling Max he can keep the badge, though I would assume he was thinking Norman would give him another as does technically NEED the badge for the league. Or it was just an attempt at sympathy and reverse psychology, whatever it all worked out.

P.S. Judging by how well Max took it one wonders if the people of North Petalburg will mourn for forty days and nights or commit mass suicide when they find out that Norman not only lost but that it wasn't their beloved Pikachu that ultimately won but rather the Grovyle owned by the trainer they had the nerve to call a "novice." And a part of me wants to believe they did have a frightful reaction.

 

[Trainer Lisa]

Here's my review of this episode:

I really loved this episode! And, of course, I always love gym battles! They're some of the best episodes the show has to offer! And this one was pretty good! First of all, I didn't really mind Norman's lineup of Slakoth, Vigoroth, and Slaking, cause he did say in the episode before this, "Love, Petalburg Style", that those were the Pokemon he'd be using in the battle. Anyway, I really loved the fact that Pikachu didn't wanna give up! I mean, it did so great in that battle with Vigoroth, and it just kept going until it defeated it. And I loved the part when Pikachu used the ability, Static! That was really cool! And when Torkoal was battling, it did a a really good job too! I also liked how it cried after it won! That was so funny! LOL. XD And, of course, I really liked the part when Grovyle used Overgrow in its battle agaisnt Slaking. That was really cool! And I also liked the part when Ash told Grovyle to use a full power Leaf Blade attack. That was so cool! And I thought it was interesting how Grovyle's leaves on its arms didn't stop glowing after it used the attack. That was really cool! And I liked how they made it look like Norman was gonna win, cause Grovyle almost fainted, and that made Max happy. Of course, Ash won, and I pretty much knew that was gonna happen. And I'm glad that Ash didn't lose, cause if he did, he would've had to have a rematch with Norman. Anyway, I thought it was kind of weird how Max acted like that at the end. I mean, I know he's a huge fan of his dad and everything, but since he knows so much about Pokemon, he should've known better than to take Ash's badge away from him. Although, I was kind of expecting him to have a reaction like that, since his dad lost. And when he took Ash's badge away from Norman, and went in the greenhouse and locked the door, I think that was realistic of what any kid would do if their father lost a gym battle (and that was the first gym battle Max had ever seen Norman in, so it makes sense). And I loved the part when Ash told Max that he could keep the badge, and that he got better and stronger cause of that battle with Max's dad, and that was much more important than any badge. That was really cool! And, of course, I also liked the part when Max gave the badge back to Ash, and he did his badge pose that he usually does whenever he gets a badge. That was really cool too!! ^_^ And overall, this was a really great episode, the gym battle was really cool, and it was awesome how we actually got to see some abilities, like Static and Overgrow, used in the anime.

Rating: 10 out of 10

 

[Dratini927]

It seemed pretty weird for a gym battle. What really got me going was when Vigoroth used one scratch and it took out Torkoal. Aren't Torkoal supposed to have super high Defense? That was a bit strange imo. And then they just now started to bring the Abilities into the anime. It's like they just all of a sudden got a boost of extra additives.

It wasn't the most exciting gym battle to me, but it was still ok. 7/10.

 

[Nekusagi]

This episode was surprisingly good. The lack of yummy Team Rocket-type goodness did piss me off, but there was my favorite line ever for a while when they *did* show up:

Meowth: Why don't we just hire some *real* workers?
J&J: Team Rocket doesn't believe in outsourcing!

(Wonder how many kids actually got that one? Still, it is kind of an indication to all those annoying haters that TR isn't as vile and evil as some would want you to think. For once, it seems the writers aren't completely stupid)

The battle was actually (shocker of the year) DECENT. There was actually an element of suspense to it: even though I knew Ash would inevitably win, I just had to see how it would turn out.

The only truly disappointing thing about this ep was that I didn't really like how they dealt with the whole Dugtrio thing. So they're chasing the trio. Big deal. Did they just keep perpetually running in a circle til they collapsed?
I give this one seven out of ten.

 

[Habunake]

I didn't like the dub music, I only heard one piece of battle music and the usual Tr Music.

Anyway, notice that Team Rocket sort of lead in to the next episode, with building a huge base.

Torkoal fainted to quickly, and so did Slakoth. I mean one hit KO's that fast?

 

[Nekusagi]

So perhaps we'll actually get to hear Gio's *real* voice again.
Poor Ted Lewis....

 

[Pokemon Fan]

And seriously, Blizzard has, like, a 30% chance of hitting. Is that yet another rule that's different for the show?

In the show a move's accuracy usually has to do with how experienced the pokemon is at using the move, how agile the opponent is, how fast the user is, and how far away the user is from the opponent. Just think of all the times we've seen Thunderbolt or Flamethrower dodged even though they have near 100% accuracy in the games?

Anyone noticing an upturn in Eric Stewart's voice lately? It's not much, but it's a start.

Yeah, he's starting to lose the "excessively even for James obnoxious" James voice he developed over time, and sadly had to use in "Poached Ego."

Torkoal fainted to quickly, and so did Slakoth. I mean one hit KO's that fast?

Justifications would include (1) they wanted to show Norman's Vigoroth as exceptionally powerful (Max made note proudly how it beat Torkoal in one move), (2) the Pokemon were caught off guard and thus took more damage than if they had braced themselves for the hit, and (3) Slakoth and then Torkoal were tired out a bit from their previous battle and thus could be beaten more quickly if the next foe is really powerful.

 

[Geodude]

For those who haven't been following the Japanese eps, trust me when I say that as far as Grovyle's animation is concerned, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Grovyle will look even better in battle in the episodes to come. :-D